It’s a little early yet for this Dorothy Dean recipe. Clip and save it anyway. It will be time to use it before you know it.

This is a favorite recipe from Alice Weatherman of Colville. “After trying it, I will never make an ordinary rhubarb pie again,” she wrote in a note.

Big Pan Rhubarb Pie

2 3/4 cups sugar, divided

1/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup whipping cream

6 eggs, separated

5 cups cut-up rhubarb

Shortbread Crust (recipe follows)

2 teaspoons vanilla

Combine 2 cups sugar, flour and salt; gradually stir in cream. Beat egg yolks until very light. Blend into sugar mixture. Add rhubarb. Spoon over warm Shortbread Crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Beat egg whites until they form soft peaks. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, gradually, beating until stiff and sugar is dissolved. Stir in vanilla. Spread over rhubarb layer, starting at the edges and working toward the center. Carefully seal meringue to outer edges of the pan. Continue baking for 15 minutes or until golden.

Yield: 12 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate.

Shortbread Crust

Combine 1 cup butter, 2 cups sifted flour and 2 tablespoons sugar; mix until crumbly. Press in the bottom of 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.